


Grave News

by FlorentineQuill



Series: Grave News [1]
Category: Maleficent (2014)
Genre: Character Death, Diaval is sad, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Maleficent is sad, This is NOT the fic where i explore the consequences of diaval feeding baby aurora fae food, Worldbuilding, everyone is very very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 12:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18916945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorentineQuill/pseuds/FlorentineQuill
Summary: Lord Ambassador Diaval and Lady Protector Maleficent return unexpectedly early from their annual summer trip with Queen Aurora. They carry grave news and a graver burden.





	Grave News

The sight of Lady Maleficent coming in to land was a familiar one to the palace guards, especially those stationed in what had become known as the Old Moors castle. Lord Diaval was also familiar, whether he was in his feathers or one of his more unusual skins. Jonah covered a jaw-cracking yawn with one gauntlet and nudged his watch partner with the butt of his spear. “Look alive Amal, we’ve got company.” In the pre-dawn sky, Lady Maleficent’s dark wings stood out. Lord Diaval was far more visible, following his lady from an even greater height in his dragon shape, a rare sight most days.

Amal groaned and creaked, oaken joints protesting movement after a long and uneventful watch. The hamadryad shook back the strands of moss that perpetually fell into his face and peered up at the sky. “They’re back early,” he observed. “Her Majesty usually takes a month, at least…”

“Maybe His Royal Majesty called them back? I heard Ambassador Diaval’s staff were very nervous this time,” Jonah said with a shrug.

“The trade deals with Malath are up for renegotiation,” Amal said. One of his siblings worked in the palace clerks as a messenger. “Of course they’d be…” He didn’t finish his sentence as Lady Maleficent came into land, almost fifty yards away. Lord Diaval shifted rapidly, from dragon to raven, before dropping the last several feet in his man shape.

Both guards straightened as Lord Diaval staggered, almost losing his balance until Lady Maleficent gave him a counter-shove with one wing.

Slowly, the pair walked up the road towards the castle's front gate.

Unease prickled up and down Jonah’s spine. After over seventy years of peace, most folk could read the body language of the various fae— and he had never seen any of the winged fae drag their wings on the ground unless they were injured or ill. Especially Lady Maleficent, who was so proud and careful of her wings. But now, her wings were slumped, the leading edges dragging in the dirt. Summer dust coated her feathers but she paid no attention to them. Not even the Lord Ambassador paid any mind and he was often more attentive to his lady’s wings than she.

Unease turned to dread, pooling cold and leaden in his stomach, as the Lord Ambassador and Protector approached. Both of them were haggard, with dark circles under their eyes, and looking far too thin. Lord Diaval’s shoulders were as bowed as Lady Maleficent’s wings, his face hidden by his hair. Lady Maleficent bore something in her arms, something wrapped in what looked like many layers of sheer black fabric. The pair drew to a stop before the gate, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Then Lady Maleficent lifted her head, and Jonah swallowed, hard. Her eyes were red-rimmed and tears silently cut through the dust on her cheeks.

Her voice was hoarse as she spoke. “Send for the priests. Her— ” She closed her eyes, lips trembling. “Her Majesty Aurora has passed on, into the Summerlands,” she whispered, voice cracking.

Amal and Jonah glanced at the bundle in Lady Maleficent’s arms, eyes widening. Amal bowed his great head. “I will go,” he said softly, and then spoke something in the harsher grating tones of Old Moorish.

Lady Maleficent’s head whipped towards him and she lifted a lip in a snarl. Her wings twitched once before mantling in a surprising show of strength. “Go, guardsman dryad,” she snapped, magic crackling in the air. “I am not so poor in power as you would have me.”

Amal bowed his head again, and left. Slowly, Lady Maleficent’s wings collapsed again, stirring up more dust.

Dust that didn’t touch the shroud, a distant part of Jonah’s mind noticed. Jonah cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the knot of grief. Both Lady Maleficent and Lord Diaval looked at him and he trembled, instinctively dropping into an abbreviated bow. “Sh—Should I go inform the king?” he asked, his voice rough.

“No,” Lord Diaval said, speaking for the first time. His voice was raspy as his raven self’s. He shook his head. “I will fetch the royal family myself. This is not news they should hear from someone else’s lips.”

“Yes, my lord,” Jonah said. He bowed again, deeper this time.

Lord Diaval didn’t reply. He kissed Lady Maleficent’s cheek, pressing their foreheads together for several long moments. Finally he drew a shuddering breath. He stooped, giving a second kiss to the shroud covering the body of Queen Aurora before sliding into his raven form. His spindly legs folded underneath him and he almost tipped over onto his side with a startled _quark!_ Jonah took a step forward to help before he could stop himself but Lady Maleficent’s magic beat him to it. A shimmer of gold, nearly invisible in the morning air slid under his feathers. Lord Diaval launched clumsily into the air, beating up and away, towards the royal quarters.

Lady Maleficent followed his flight with her eyes until he was out of sight.

“We will be in the palace chapel, should anyone need us,” she finally said, still looking up at the sky. She walked past Jonah, entering the castle proper, her wings scraping against the rough stones of the gatehouse. Jonah was too well-trained to leave his post but he turned to watch the Protector of the Moors enter the main courtyard. The morning’s hustle and bustle faded to stillness within a minute as the other guards and servants up before the sun rose caught sight of Lady Maleficent and her bundle. The crowd parted before her as she continued towards the path that led to the forested grove and the Old Moors’ chapel.

Even after she was out of view, no one dared to move or even speak. They stood frozen for several long minutes until the silence was broken by a distant keening wail. Jonah shuddered at the grief contained in that hoarse, feral cry. The trees and banners were tossed in a sudden icy wind was green-gold at its edges. The air was filled with the smell of rain and thunder. A few moments later, the dwarf-forged brass bells of the chapel began to toll in the slow, measured pace of a funeral.

**Author's Note:**

> GUESS WHO'S BACK FROM THE DEAD*
> 
> IT ME. 
> 
> I've been sitting on this fic for the better part of 5 years. AND THEN THAT TRAILER CAME OUT. THAT BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL FANDOM RESURRECTING TRAILER. [obligatory mushu.gif here]
> 
> Are you crying? I'm crying. Mostly because bemusedlybespectacled is going to murder me but that's ok. Your tears will sustain me. I have more heartwrenching fic ideas about how Maleficent deals with Aurora's death (spoiler alert: not well). In this series, Aurora was only human, and a very old human at that. She had 3 kids and passed her crown onto the eldest several decades before her death at age 98.
> 
> *Not Aurora. This is not that fic. Sorry not sorry. That was bad choice of words but I'm a bad person as shown by the fic you just read :)


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